SOCIAL workers remain top of the list of Wirral Council employees who take the most days off sick.

Figures released by the authority show they had an average of just over 17 days off last year compared to a council average of 9.74 days. The council as a whole is below the national target for metropolitan authorities of 11.40 days per employee lost through sickness.

But continuing high levels in some areas have prompted the council to introduce a speedier system for giving staff access to physiotherapy in an effort to reduce the number of working days lost through sickness.

Next highest was the authority's finance department which averaged 12.71 days lost due to staff illness. Lowest was the regeneration department with just four days a year taken over the last 12 months from March 2004 to February 2005.

The move follows a number of innovative schemes to improve recruitment to Wirral's social work department. A report to the employment and appointments committee said waiting times following referrals by the authority's occupational health department were around 12-20 weeks for non-urgent cases.

In the report, deputy chief executive of Wirral Council, Jim Wilkie, said the authority had agreed a six-month pilot scheme to speed this up, using Consultants in Occupational Health, Physiotherapy and Ergonomics (COPE) to assess the impact on sickness levels.

Mr Wilkie added: "The expectation is that the waiting times for appointments will be significantly reduced and that a correspondent reduction in sickness should occur."

At the end of 2004, one-third of social worker posts in Wirral remained unfilled despite a recruitment drive. A large number of vacancies, many of them in children's services, had affected ability to provide care.

A council spokesman said sickness absences in the social services department had improved. He said compared to

other authorities Wirral social services had an average sickness level.

The spokesman said: "We have carried out stress awareness days and support days and the feedback from them has been excellent. We're convinced that the more proactive role we have taken will help keep people in work, although obviously if they have an illness they may be off.

"And it's important to note that the nature of the work can mean they are exposed to illnesses, and we are a 24-hour operation. Our staff can easily pick up bugs and so on from service users we are looking after."